Understanding Your Toyota's CV Boot

The CV boot is one Toyota component that remains little understood by car owners, despite the relatively simple function it performs. Unfortunately, such ignorance can often lead to trouble down the line. If you would like to improve your understanding of the CV boots on your car, this article will teach you about what they do, and what happens when something goes wrong.

Function

The primary function of the CV boot is to protect the CV joint--or the constant velocity joint, as it is also known. CV joints are a common feature on any vehicle with front-wheel drive. Such cars contain four CV joints, whose job is to act as points of contact between the wheels, driveshafts, and transmission. Two inner CV joints attach the transmission to the driveshaft, while two outer CV joints attach the driveshaft to the wheels.

Anytime your car is moving, so are its CV joints. To ensure that their movement remains silky smooth, the inside of the CV joint is tightly packed with lubricant. If exposed directly to the air on the underside of your car, this grease would soon become choked with debris. The CV boot's job is to protect the CV joint and its grease from such from potential contaminants.

Problems

A CV boot is generally constructed out of a heavy-duty yet flexible plastic. It must be capable of moving along with the CV joint, while still providing an impenetrable barrier around it. Of course, over time, CV boots manage to take a pretty good beating. Not only are they always having to flex and bend in response to the car's movements, but they are also being constantly exposed to heat, water, salt, and other factors that they to their degradation. Sooner or later, these factors will cause tears and/or cracks to form on the boot.

Replacement

A damaged boot exposes your vulnerable CV joint to an array of unwelcome contaminants. As the grease becomes choked with dirt and debris, it will exert an increasing amount of friction on the CV joint. Not only that, but the lubricant may also begin to leak out through the damaged area. Both problems will greatly accelerate the demise of your CV joint. If the damaged boot is allowed to remain place for a long enough time, the CV joint will eventually fail. This represents a catastrophic and potentially dangerous scenario. Thus, it is important to have your CV boots inspected on a regular basis, and replaced if necessary.

For more information, talk to a professional like Milton Ruben Toyota.

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